New life-extending pills will create ‘chic zombies,’ says CEO

The CEO says billionaires are funding the creation of life-extending pills that will eventually hit the market for people to buy, and he says it will turn the rich into “posh, privileged zombies.”

The dire warning comes amid fears that artificial intelligence and biotechnology are advancing at such a rapid pace that anti-aging pills could be just a few years away.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and ChatGPT’s Sam Altman are among the latest in a long line of US tycoons to pour their wealth into regenerative medicine.

Their goal is to increase lifespan through drugs and other technologies that allow the body’s cells to stay young and disease-free longer.

“At the rate technology is advancing, it will only be a matter of time before life-extending drugs become freely available to those who can afford them,” said Phil Cleary, founder of SmartWater Group.

But Cleary said Silicon Valley tycoons should “stop playing God” in the race to defeat death, calling the search for the Holy Grail of medicine “ego-driven” and saying it risks creating a planet of “posh, privileged zombies.”

Instead, he said, they should use their vast fortunes to help the world’s poorest children survive, at least until adulthood. Instead of extending the lives of the wealthy elite, their money would be better spent on the 5 million children in the world who die every year from hunger and other preventable and treatable causes.

“Silicon Valley’s relentless pursuit of the fountain of youth is a folly driven by fear and selfishness that is exacting a terrible humanitarian cost to the planet and its most vulnerable inhabitants,” said Cleary, author of the novel “Elixir.” which explores the devastating effects of life-extending drugs on society.

“A pill that would keep people alive even for a few decades would create an unjust, unequal world populated by posh, privileged zombies—predominantly white, middle-class people who could afford to buy the drugs in the first place.

“So the billionaires behind this dangerous research need to stop playing God and rethink what ‘life’ really means.”

“Keeping children alive at least until their 18th birthday is undoubtedly more important to humanity than extending the lives of those privileged few who have already had the opportunity to see the world, have children of their own and realize their special ambitions. »

About 100,000 people die from age-related diseases every day, according to the World Health Organization, but scientists have long disagreed about what causes aging and what, if anything, can be done about it.

Although aging itself does not directly kill people, older people are at risk for many deadly diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and cancer.

Some believe that mitochondria, the cells’ batteries, may be responsible. Over time, they are thought to produce unstable compounds that damage or age important molecules and proteins.

Others believe that aging may be caused by “senescent” or older cells that are not cleared by the body’s waste system when they go dormant.

But anti-aging research is advancing rapidly as scientists strive to uncover and control the molecular processes of aging.

In July, researchers from the MRC Health Sciences Laboratory at Imperial College London and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore announced the discovery of a new drug that increased the lifespan of laboratory mice by almost 25%.

Dozens of prominent businessmen have poured their weight and money into biotech startups that are specifically focused on extending human lifespan.

Jeff Bezos reportedly invested $3 billion—the largest biotech company of all time—in Altos Labs, and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invested in the Methuselah Fund, which aims to turn “90 into the new 50.”

And last April, it was revealed that ChatGPT founder Sam Altman had funded biotech startup Retro BioScience to the tune of $180 million.

According to the Retro BioScience website, the focus is on “cellular reprogramming” and is less than four years away from developing a clinical proof of concept.

Cleary, whose SmartWater technology is used by more than 2 million people in more than 20 countries, acknowledged that life-extending drugs would benefit many people whose lives would otherwise be cut short by a terminal illness.

But he warned that drugs of such potency would only be sold at a premium, meaning much of the world’s population would never be able to afford them.

“Before extending the lives of the privileged few, humanity must surely first focus on extending the lives, at least by a few years, of the millions of children dying of hunger,” he said.

Theologian Dr Niamh Middleton of Dublin University agreed and said humanity “could be lost forever” if Silicon Valley succeeds in its goal.

“Besides the many religious arguments, including God’s divine plan, I think it is safe to say that humanity could be lost forever, as we know, if life-extending drugs are brought to market by private companies for commercial gain,” she said. .

“In our quest to extend life, let us first turn our attention to the most vulnerable among us. Instead of focusing on costly measures for personal longevity, let us focus our resources and efforts on ending the scourge of child hunger, reflecting the true Christian call for compassion and justice.”